In this rich and memorable evocation of the fictional South Riding of Yorkshire are the lives, loves and sorrows of the central characters.
There is Sarah Burton, fiery young headmistress; Robert Carne of Maythorpe Hall, a councillor tormented by his own disastrous marriage; Jo Astell, a socialist fighting poverty and his own illness; and Mrs Beddows, the first woman Alderman of the district (like Winifred's own mother). They are the people who work together in the council chambers and backrooms of local politics. Alongside them, however, are the people affected by their decisions.
Download and start listening now!
"This was a wonderful read. Peopled by some very strong and believable characters, the novel came to life, giving us an interesting portrait of life in this part of the world, at a certain moment in time. Almost a snapshot of an era in time, this allows the reader a glimpse of lives across the spectrum-from the poorest of poor, to the relatively wealthy. Sarah, the lead protagonist is a superb creation-ahead of her time in many respects! She cares deeply for her pupils and their education, and this dominates her life-such a shock she gets when she falls in love,as this was not what she was expecting at all.Perhaps my only complaint would be that there were too many subsidiary characters-even with a list at the beginning of the book, it was hard to keep track of who was who." — Elaine (4 out of 5 stars)
"This was a wonderful read. Peopled by some very strong and believable characters, the novel came to life, giving us an interesting portrait of life in this part of the world, at a certain moment in time. Almost a snapshot of an era in time, this allows the reader a glimpse of lives across the spectrum-from the poorest of poor, to the relatively wealthy. Sarah, the lead protagonist is a superb creation-ahead of her time in many respects! She cares deeply for her pupils and their education, and this dominates her life-such a shock she gets when she falls in love,as this was not what she was expecting at all.Perhaps my only complaint would be that there were too many subsidiary characters-even with a list at the beginning of the book, it was hard to keep track of who was who."
" I wanted to read this because it's set fairly near where I grew up. And it turned out to be a Rattling Good Read as well. "
" It seemed just too big to me, and too limited by the intense focus on North English local government. I preferred the more stripped-down novels. "
" This book is a real acheivement. A huge cast, a clever episodic structure and real characters make this book, not only one of the best novels of the 1930s (and it is so much of it's time), but also very distinctive. "
" Lovely book. It is worth reading. "
" Read it now. It's a tragedy that Holtby is no longer a household name. "
" Found this had too many characters and was pleased about the list of characters at the front of the book as I kept turning back to it. "
" Here's my review of this book. "
" I was interested in reading this book because Masterpiece Classics made a miniseries adaptation of it. It's thought-provoking. There are parts of the story that irritate me. It's also kind of depressing. "
" Love the storyline, can't wait to see the series. The only downside? The writing is a little overwrought. "
" I got interested in Winifred Holtby from watching the miniseries of Testament of Youth and Testament of Friendship that appeared in the late 70s/early 80s. At that time, her books were published in the wonderful Virago Classics series, with the green covers. "
" I found this a slower read than I normally like but the detail kept me persevering to the end. Amazing how some things never seem to change. "
" Very much an early 20th century Elizabeth Gaskell, which is to say brilliant and very real but a bit on the depressing side. "
" I enjoyed this. The characters are brilliantly written. Its a bit to philosophical at times and sometimes I wanted to shout 'Oh pull yourself together !' at Sarah but on the whole a lovely book. "
" Wonderful writing. Each character seemed to come to you fully formed and felt as if you knew them even though she uses very deft strokes of her pen to describe them. Brilliantly told story of social struggles and personal ambitions and morals. "
" Not my bag. Read for book group, otherwise I wouldn't have. "
" Loved the Masterpiece version on PBS. I'm 20% through the book, and I'm taking my time reading it slowly to enjoy the details. "
" If you loved MIDDLEMARCH and are interested in 1930s rural England, you probably should check this one out. "
" This novel, set in Yorkshire in the 1930's, has a caste of fascinating characters, and the writing is superb. "
Winifred Holtby (1893–1935) was born in the East Riding of Yorkshire. She was educated at Scarborough College, Oxford, and gave up her studies to join the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps in France during the First World War. Later she became an ardent feminist and lecturer on politics and was a prolific contributor to many newspapers. Her last and best-known novel was South Riding, which was finished shortly before her early death.
Carole Boyd’s theater work includes a year performing with Alan Ayckbourn’s Scarborough Company where she created the role of June in Way Upstream, while her television credits include Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Mystery!: Campion. Boyd also plays the notorious Lynda Snell in The Archers, is a regular reader on BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please, and has won three audiobook awards for her recordings.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.